Chicago

Cubs

Feinsand specifically notes those three clubs as the biggest threats to sign the 30-year-old left-hander away from the Phillies. He also mentions the Tigers and Mets as teams that have shown interest. With multiple large market teams in the bidding, it sounds like Suárez should do pretty well for himself here on the open market.

Zeglin missed all of last season due to injury after posting a 0.95 ERA and 90/16 K/BB ratio across 66 innings over 25 appearances between Low-A Myrtle Beach and High-A South Bend. The 25-year-old reliever is a textbook definition of a lottery ticket arm. Meanwhile, the Cubs receive $250,000 in international bonus money to close out the rest of the signing period.

Sharma and Mooney add that the Cubs are bracing for Kyle Tucker’s expected departure in free agency and are prepared to give top prospects Owen Caissie and Moises Ballesteros extended runway in the majors. Still, they’re not closing the door on a potential position-player addition. Chicago reportedly made a legitimate push for Bregman last spring before he ultimately landed in Boston. The 31-year-old defensive stalwart produced a robust .273/.360/.462 triple-slash line with 18 homers and 62 RBI across 114 games. His 44.4 percent hard-hit rate was the best of his career. The production, however, came in two distinct acts: Bregman hit .298 with 11 homers in 53 games before a serious quad injury, then managed just a .250 average and seven homers in 61 contests after the All-Star break. His arrival would squeeze former top prospect Matt Shaw off third base and into a likely multi-position utility role.

This probably doesn’t thrill the Cubs, given Boyd’s injury history, but since he did put in a full season last year, there’s nothing the team can do about it. Boyd went 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA and made his first All-Star team in his first season in Chicago.

Kingery heads to the Windy City where he’ll compete for a bench role as a versatile utility specialist in spring training. The 31-year-old former top prospect hit .148 (4-for-27) across 19 games with the Angels this past season. It would be an understatement to call his career trajectory underwhelming considering he inked a six-year extension with the Phillies back in 2018 before ever playing in the majors.

At this point, it feels like Kyle Tucker is a long shot to return to the Cubs, so the team will likely replace him by “reallocating resources to different parts of the roster.” Mooney suggests that Seiya Suzuki will play more right field, and the Cubs will use much of the extra money to bolster their rotation, which means young hitters Owen Caissie and Moisés Ballesteros will get a chance “to develop and improve at the major-league level.” As of now, Caissie, a top 100 prospect, appears to have the upper hand after putting together an .887 OPS in Triple-A over the last two seasons. He has more defensive value than Ballesteros, who is more of a DH right now than a 1B/C, but this may come down to a spring training battle between the two.

Jon Heyman reported earlier today that Maton is guaranteed $14.5 million. The 32-year-old posted a career-best 2.79 ERA while throwing 60-plus innings for a fifth straight season in 2025. Also important was that his velocity crept back up; his 90.4 mph average on his fastball is well below average, but it’s two mph better than where he was in 2024. He’ll probably work as a setup man in the Cubs pen.

He could make an additional $500,000 in incentives over the two seasons. Maton will probably wind up as a setup man in Chicago, though that’s still to be determined. As of right now, it’d presumably be he and Daniel Palencia for the eighth and ninth, but the team still could bring a big-name closer.

Maton will also get a club option for 2028. The 32-year-old pitched for the Rangers and Cardinals in 2025 while compiling a 2.79 ERA over 61 1/3 innings with a K/BB ratio of 81/23. He’ll be a high-leverage option for Chicago, but seems unlikely to be the closer for the Cubs which limits the fantasy value considerably.

McGuire wound up with just a .245 OBP for the Cubs last season, but he hit nine homers in 140 plate appearances and played quality defense behind the plate while filling in for Miguel Amaya. The Cubs weren’t going to keep him around as an out-of-options third catcher, but he might be able to land a backup gig somewhere. That said, if any team was especially interested, it could have sent the Cubs a minor prospect for him before he hit free agency.